A glimpse of the world

So i left Victor's place early in the morning and bid my farewell to my new friend Scarlet and made my way to the hitchhing point.
I left in such a rush i didnt prepare my sign before hand and when i arrived i had to scavenge around looking for some cardboard.
After awhile i finally decided to make do with the blank side of an old poster.

Soon enough an old van pulled over Its hard to describe the ecstasy and excitement in finally getting picked up ( even though the wait wasnt as long as it felt)

The driver was a really cool old guy. Born and bred in the Balkans. He didnt speak a single word of english or german. Body language it was haha. I dont know what inspired me, but i took out some Ba Kwa for him to try. ( Unfortunately he didnt like it so much haha ! )
Slowly i managed to find out information about his family and job... The Van stereo was playing old songs from his era (1960 or older) and soon his was singing along I really wish at that moment i could speak bosnian and sing along also but...

The journey was about 2 hours but the scenery was simply surreal. One of the best sceneries i had ever seen in my life.

There were mountains, churches and old buildings and than lakes that reflected the entire mountain standing behind it.
My breath was taken away and i really couldnt stop taking photos ( Most of them were shit because the car was too fast haha )

After awhile we took a short break to stretch our legs and this was the view.

He than showed me a bridge that had collapsed in the first world war.

Soon enough we arrived in Mostar !!
I was super psyched !
It wasnt a big town and the moment he dropped me off i found a random cafe with free wifi in front of this really tall church haha

After thanking my driver profusely and wishing him all the best i slowly made my way to the city center ) Mostar !!!!!

I spent abit too much time in zagreb with the guys and missed going to belgrade...hmmm oh well
Found a decently priced bus heading to sarajevo which arrived at 11pm.
I was a little stress planning for my trip to sarajevo as google maps doesnt work so well with sarajevo and i had no idea how i would get to house of my host.

However, during the bus journey there i had the pleasure of meeting two turkish guys Neco and Yunnus and found out they were heading to the city center also. Once we got off, they were so kind to give me a ride to the city center )) Soon enough, i was in Victor's house haha.

It was really an erasmus house. 2 Spanish, 1 bratislavan and 1 turkish. There were also 2 german, 2 spanish and 1 korean couch surfer Really cool international house !

I really liked Sarajevo alot, it just has a special feel to it and it has grown to be one of my favorite cities now.

The 3 of us having a Börek

Really amazing and beautiful city surrounded by mountains with a colored and sad history... Neco Yunus and i

Neco and i had the opportunity of meeting and talking with Jasmin, and we learnt so much about the history of sarajevo. Like him, many people lost someone they loved in the war. There is never an appropriate response when someone tells you of his/her loss. No words can comfort or fill the void a person leaves behind... Well there's always two sides to a conflict but one cause...Men's Pride...

A special mention to my travel idol scarlet !
I was talking to scarlet in the kitchen after everyone had gone back to their rooms. I asked her when she flew from korea and her reply threw me of the chair.
She said, she left somewhere in 2011 ( which means she had been travelling for more than a year) and she was only going back in the end of 2013 !!!
She then explained that she didnt fly but instead came by land !!
I fell of the chair again !
She had taken a ferry from her homeland korea into russia. She then proceeded to hitchhike through russia during the russian winter !!!
and soon enough entered europe.
She shared with me her map of the places she has been and this time i fell of the chair and never came up.

She had practically been everywhere ! everywhere !!!!!

On a side note, for those of you who know me, i consider myself a low budget traveller, i dont spend too much during traveling. Scarlet however was on a different league. I compared my expenses for the past 5 weeks with hers for the past 5 weeks and mine was double !
I was ashamed, i can no longer consider myself a low budget traveller. The bounderies have been redefined...

At this point, i have travelled cumulatively in europe for around 6 months and have never paid for accommodation. So i asked her, what proportion of her trip were in hostel. She said 0...100% CS and when she couldnt find a host she would just crash in train stations or...
The other reason how she managed to spend so little was because besides hitching in Russia, she also hitched in almost the whole of europe ! Hearing her stories just made me super inspired but it was almost the end of my trip so there was only so much i could do with my remaining time.
The guys in the house were going for an epic van trip driving around Bosnia for the next few days ( even accommodation was found ! ) but i decided instead to go solo and head south-west to Mostar !
And yes, Hitching time it was

Meet Deja and Bruno the boss two great friends i have in croatia

I left Graz for zagreb and arrived in the late evening, it was quite a scary walk but i eventually made it to the student dorm where i would be staying the next few days
One of the reason i headed southeast was to escape the cold...Unfortunately, the weather was just as cold and with days where snow fell non stop with chilling winds blowing into my bones.

The first meal i had in the student canteen ( very reasonably priced ! )

The double dorm i was staying in was really cosy and somehow all the neighbours were also all addicted to the same computer game i played back home haha. This together with the cold intimidating weather outside made me just want to stay home everyday.

One night after dinner Bruno and his lovely girlfriend christina brought me on a city tour. It was really windy again and croatia had just beat serbia 2-0 in a game of soccer.

Statue of Ban Josip Jelačić in the main square of Zagreb. Nice cakes and ice cream in the city center with bruno and christina.

The next day Bruno brought me for an epic cevapi lunch !

It was super delicious but also super big ! I had difficulties finishing the entire thing !
I also went with Deja to his gym where he trained and i had a chance to work my fingers again at the little climbing gym

I really enjoyed spending my days with Bruno, christina, alenco and deja and i ended up staying alot longer than i had planned. They were really one of the funniest people i have ever met and redefined hospitality for me.
I was really sad to leave such good friends behind but Sarajevo awaits !!

My boss Andrew had shared with me his interesting experience last year of staying with this couple and recommended me to go and hear from them first hand about their travel experiences. Andrew calls them the "eastern europe specialist"
So off i went )

It was a long 13 hour train journey ( i boarded the train in Luagno at 510 am ! )
I arrived in Graz in the evening and realised after awhile of wandering that many of the ways i had plan to go to their house was unavailable as the buses didnt run on sudays... I found an alternative route soon enough and after a few changes i arrived at the final bus stop.

The roads were not very well lit but soon enough i found the road and house 12 ( they were staying at 15) so i went in further on...After walking awhile, i could only find 14 and all the rest of the numbers jumped to above 40. I walked back and forth so many times in the pitch black and soon was getting tired.
After my months of travel, i have never gotten as lost as this...The entire area was totally deserted and there was no passerbys i could ask for help and almost all the houses were dark ( signifying unoccupancy)
Finally out of desperation, i found a house and rang the doorbell begging the man who answered to use his mobile phone.
Michael than came out to pick me haha, it was after 9 pm when i finally arrived at his house. A long day it was...

The coolest family in Graz. Daniela and Michael hada daughter lena 11 and a son Lukas 13.
They had travelled so much around with their super cool and fit children. The whole family also climbs !!! Sweet

They also had a bundle of fur which some people mistake to be a cat

Michael and Daniela were super hospitable, showing me what Austrain hospitality really was and i was very comfortable at all times with them.
They cooked super delicious and some traditional austrain dishes for me to sample and we spend some evenings having nice long talks, playing board games and i had the chance of hearing their whole family sing austrian songs !

Their cosy house also had a incredible balcony where u can sit and just enjoy nature while sipping a cup of tea.

This first picture was taken and than it started snowing, suddenly the entire place was covered with snow. Wahnsinn !
If you look at the first picture closely, u can see a deer in the middle )

On our last free day, Michael, Daniela, Lena and me went hiking to the top of Schöckl ( as mentioned before they are all super fit)
It was really fun walking in the deep snow and we had magnificent views of the surrounding plains.

We got home in the late afternoon and had a nice meal and Michael and i ended off the day by going bouldering !
) What a nice day it was and oh to exercise my weak fingers once more and feel the pump in my arms hahah )

It was time to move south by southwest where i met Erika a nice a lady whom i met last year.

Before that, i decided to hunt for my favourite ice cream in domodossola.

It was a quick train journey there and as i stepped out into the city, it was a extremely familiar site. ( Except a lot colder !!! )

So i quickly headed in the direction of the ice cream store and along the way was starting to get worried as i every ice cream store i passed by was closed ( My friends had warned that most ice cream stores close in the winter)

I finally arrived at my destination to see the familiar signboard but with the shutters down (((

I was quite devastated coming all this way for nothing....so i decided to make do and go to the nearby bakery and relieve the memory of this small town fine Italian cuisine.

On the way back i passed by the ice cream store again, but this time the shutters were half open and there was a man inside.
I quickly rushed in and asked if it was possible to buy one and here it is...My favourite ice cream in the world )

Soon it was time to leave and head to Erika's place. The train journey was very scenic and its always nice to watch the world whizz by while you sit comfortably.

Throughout my stay with Erika, i slipped into food coma every single day after every meal. She cooks delicious food but often in colossal portions. ( or maybe my appetite has just been getting smaller recently)

Knowing that i love ice cream, Erika decided to show me how she made ice cream !

Our very own self made ice cream ( again a big portion after a very big dinner !!) haha

We also went for day trips to Como and Ponte Tresa with marvellous italian food and interesting markets....(surprisingly in many of these markets there were asian merchants)

Ok enough of food, time to make my way towards the east !
A 13 hour train journey awaits ! ahhhhh !!

I've never had good experiences with downhill sports so when Charlotte wanted to bring me out skiing and to teach me to ski, i was really excited but also quite worried.

Again the ski slopes had really nice views of the mountains and it was a perfectly sunny day

After awhile i started learning skiing slowly, but my sprain ankle really restricted my progress alot. Every attempt to maneuver was greeted with tingling pain and soon enough the pain was increasing regardless of the precautions i took.
Young kids and old ladies were skiing around me, making me super jealous of their ability...Skiing looked so fun if you could haha...

Soon enough it was time to break for lunch

Nicole loving the sun

It was one of the most expensive lunches i ever had. A 1.5 liter bottle of soft drinks costed 12 francs ( crazy ! wahnsinn ! )
Over lunch, i was screaming in silence everytime my ankle was turning or even when i had to stand up. This was a signal for me to take it easy for the rest of the day...( It was really a waste as the day was almost perfect for skiing) Oh well....another time it is....

Professional and patient ski teacher charlotte and me

I had the great privilege of spending Hans( mischu's fathers) birthday with Therese and Mischu. We started the day walking to Gstaad. It was a nice long walk through the snow. The walk again was a testament to how fit the swiss people were regardless of their age.
Mischu parents were older than my parents and throughout the walk even as i was starting to get tired. The both of them were still going strong !!! ( my fitness has gone with the wind )

We soon arrived in Gwatt and had a delicious lunch

Soon after we went back to Thun where Mischu and i had a short lepak session in the house and than we were off again to Hans and Therese's house for a birthday dinner with their good friend Mr Tu and his wife ( a vietnamese couple who had spent a long time living in switzerland) It was really amazing to meet them and speak some of my broken chinese haha and just hear first hand the culture differences they had learnt to adapt to haha.
Also it was a relief finally having someone who could understand the things and perception issues i was going through.

There was one common issue everyone agreed on regardless.
Therese's legendary culinary skills !!!

Absolutely amazing food. Among the best in my life

To conclude the busy week...We were to go camping in a Hut in the mountains

Initially i wasnt keen on the prospects of leaving the warmth and comfort of the bed but than it hit me...
Camping with friends !!! Yay !!!!

It was a short walk in deep snow

We soon arrived at the hut our timing was really just nice as it was getting dark and cold....
We entered the Hut and i was so excited i nearly died an early death from the prospects of us staying there that night.
( unfortunately again, i was too cold and also too dark to take any good pictures) haha

The Hut belonged to the farmer who would use it in the summer but in the cold lonely winters where it was unoccupied, people would rent it for a camping trip.
There was a kitchen with a wooden stove to cook and bake,a living room where we could all sit and have dinner as well as a bed room consisting of two levels of beds where 10 people could sleep side by side on each level.
Like ants in a nest we all set to do the required task to have a good dinner and warmth. A fire was started to heat the cheese fondue, beer was placed outside the door to be chilled by the cold wind, firewood was chopped for the stove and fireplace, candles were lit to provide light and some warmth and the sleeping area was cleared.

Bettina preparing the cheesefondue

All these while i was running around excitedly being a camera man...haha

Almost too soon, it was time for dinner...Käsefondue with a glass of Moscato

There were the 5 of us. Yuri, Nicole, Bettina, Mischu and me....
Another perfect evening with great food and even greater friends Simply a luxury

Soon the fatigues of the day drew us to the bed.
We were really blessed to have the entire hut totally to ourselves ( Mischu and bettina often had to share it with many strangers)
I settled down quickly taking up the space of 2 beds...It was pitch black, you open your eyes and stare in to total darkness wondering if your eyes were opened or closed...One couldnt even see his own outstretched arm
But... No time for thinking only time for sleeping

I awoke to a beautiful view the next morning
Incredible mountains hiding behind a thick mysterious mist which slowly faded as the sun slowly rose.


A nice peaceful breakfast for a lazy saturday ahead haha

I couldnt afford the train ticket but i could afford the time

I departed from meiringen with my bag and this sign in my hand and started on my first hitch this trip to Thun.

It was quite cold and i had woken up a little late and missed the morning traffic on purpose and started thumbing around 9am.
There werent as many cars and i started to think if it was a wise decision to miss the rush hour as i was really starting to freeze but soon enough a nice VW with and even nicer old lady picked me up She wasnt going to Thun but interlaken ( and it was good enough for me to get out of the cold)
I hoped on and immediately the warmth air of the car and the lady's smile erased all memory of the wait.
I managed the entire journey with my poor german and was glad that i could at least last the journey but was irritated that i hadnt been learning my german consistently as i could have said so much more. I was dropped off at Interlaken and i had totally no idea which part it was but as i saw the nearest entrance was into the highway in the right direction i took out my sign and with excitement in my heart started again

This stop had at least triple the number of cars passing through but so many more "rejections"
A police car passed by and instantly out came my beaming smile holding the sign (as if in a toothpaste advertisement) They smiled and drove off
A bus driver drove past giving a smile and signalling regret he couldnt pick me up ( i was laughing so hard ! )
A long wait it was...but in times like this...humming a tune and smiling to myself was all i needed to tide through Soon enough, a young man picked me up and said he would pass by Thun and drop me off somewhere

JACKPOT !!!

On board the car, whilst conversing in german, i noticed immediately that his accent was strange and asked him where he was from.
He:Italy
me: Ah..Italia !!!
I than said, of all the places i travelled, i felt the most beautiful ladies were from Croatia and following closely at second place were the Italians....
He (repeating my statement): Croatian ???
me: Yes, croatian but italians are second !
He:my wife is from croatia
Both of us: screaming like excited little girls entering a shopping center

I was dropped off at Thun south and thank him profusely....The home stretch ( I knew thun quite well and could walk home easily)

Soon i arrived home and was surprised to see Bettina home also
I checked the time and realised that my little adventure was actually faster than taking the train !!!
Yay !!!!

As Mischu said: "feels good to be in a familiar place ha"
Feels good...Feels good

I stumbled upon meiringen( a small alpine village) last year as i wanted to triftbrücke visit in Switzerland. However i didnt have the time nor opportunity.
This year i found myself in a position to finally visit this beautiful place. However, not everything always flows with you unless you are always going down haha.

I had the opportunity of meeting and staying with a lovely couple KC and Kathleen.
They were both very spiritual, healthy and respectable. Through my short stay i had the pleasure of witnessing how Kathleen made yoghurt and KC baking bread.

I realised after awhile that the triftbrücke was closed and i couldnt visit what i came to meiringen for....so i used the time to go for many walks alone in the forest

I also spent sometime talking to KC and Kathleen whenever they were not busy from work and
I found that i had alot to learn from this very wise couple and wished i had more time to talk with them.
The view in meiringen was stunning nonetheless, but my hands were often too cold to take pictures haha

Well...this marks an end to the short stay in meiringen, hopefully i can come back again in the summer and go camping at triftbrücke !

Next up....hitchhiking

Destination : Thun )

It has been a really great stay with Hilmar and Manuela so far

Our delicious Bavarian breakfast with weisswurst and pretzels.

The 3rd member of the house Lazy Lucky....He was sleeping in this position.. haha

In the evening we attended a house warming party of his friend (Christoff)...It was a nice new apartment but the party had so many people there wasnt anyehere to sit and as i haven fullly

Now after, not climbing for a really long time. My fingers were suffering. The wonderful solution was : Hilmar was a climber too, and after a long breakfast we went climbing in Heavensgate climbing gym.

It was my first time bouldering in cold weather and because my fingers were so cold it was hard to grab all the tiles the way that i was used to haha.
After our climbing sessionm it was our last dinner together...I was quite sad that the next morning i would leave but also relieved at the same time i was coming back to munich haha.

In retrospect, i had a great time with Manu and Hilmar...Many nice thoughtful talks as well as a great climbing day with Hilmar...I hope to see them soon...
The next morning Switzerland ! haha